Clifton Boys' Home
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Reverend Hartley Perrin, Chairman of the Clifton Boys' Home in Westmoreland and Children's Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison
Reverend Hartley Perrin, Chairman of the Clifton Boys' Home in Westmoreland, says the superintendent of the facility has resigned in the wake of reports of the physical abuse of wards.
The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) has taken over management of the home after two other staff members were suspended, leaving the home without leadership.
Reverend Perrin says an interim manager is now in place, following a meeting with the CPFSA on Thursday.
The chairman said the home has a strict policy against the use of corporal punishment.
He suggested the superintendent might have continued using corporal punishment because of her religious values.
"She would be of the school that says that in the event of trying other methods, the method of corporal punishment becomes effective. She would have been brought up on those veins, like perhaps myself who is of senior age," he reasoned.
Reverend Perrin said 11 of the 20 boys at the home were subjected to corporal punishment.
He said the board had encouraged alternative methods of punishment, including "withdrawing benefits" like the internet, their freedom to play and excess food.
A team of special investigators from the Office of the Children's Advocate went to the Clifton Boys' Home on Thursday.
Children's Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison, told Radio Jamaica News the team is reviewing aspects of the facility's operations to assess "the systemic arrangements in place...and to determine whether there are any potential non-criminal proceedings that need to be explored."
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